京北町 (Keihoku-chou)

So I went to 京北町 (Keihoku-chou) on June 30th and July 1st with the iAT group. Keihoku-chou is a place where it's said that "the beautiful nature and (traditional) Japanese culture exist in harmony".

iAT comes after "International Afternoon Tea", probably because their usual event is an afternoon tea held weekly at the university's student lounge. The objective of the group, as I've heard from a professor that went together for the trip, is helping Japanese and international students to meet each other, since that professor was often asked that by both sides.

Anyway, this is a post about a trip, so I'm listing the places where we went.

For the first day, we went first to Imaki's house. That's not exactly a touristic spot, but someone's (Imaki's) house. The house was first built hundreds of years ago (around 400 I think...), moved to its present location some fewer hundreds of years ago and kept relatively unchanged. The roof was changed to ceramic, and the base was also modified someway... but even so it keeps its traditional atmosphere.

Some details are interesting, like the smoke from the fire used to heat the house during winter being responsible for the dark colors of the wood used in the walls (I'm not sure if I'm being clear here...) and also contributed to the impermeability of the roof (the traditional one). And also opening some fusuma (sliding doors) creates an air current inside the house that makes air conditioners unnecessary. It even makes the house looks like a living being adapted to the conditions of its environment.

The hosts were wery kind to the students horde... including serving tea and (handmade!) sweets that are really good!!

The next stop was Joshokoji (常照皇寺). Quoting the temple's description from JMode:

Joshokoji is a hidden temple located about 8 km north from the town center. The Kokonoezakura (nine-layered sakura) is a noble tree registered as national natural monument, which in spring produces exuberant small pretty blossoms adding elegance to the ancient air.

There's more to that temple. It seems that a former emperor for something like that got tired of the political life and moved to that temple and some more things... For those with some knowledge of Japanese history and fluency in Japanese, the guide's explanation was nice. There was an English translation (by the professor who went together), but I don't remember the details of what was said...

The highlight of the next day was Kayabuki Village (芹生の里). According to the Kyoto region sightseeing website,

... dotted with 250 thatched-roof houses (as of 2005) near the pure waters of the Yura River flowing through the green mountains, is famous throughout Japan as the quintessential ancestral hometown. In the northern part of the town are some fifty houses lining an area which measures 600 meters east and west by 300 meters north and south. About half of these house have thatched roofs. There is a higher residual ratio of these houses here than anywhere else in Japan. In December 1993, this area was designated by the national government as an Important Traditional Building Preservation District.

The place has a nice countryside atmosphere and some beautiful views. Although strolling is all we did at the time, it seems there are some festivals held there (ok, and tell me a part of Japan that has no festivals, huh...).

There was more than just sightseeing. For example, international students were asked to make a presentation about their countries. Now, I don't like to think of myself as some kind of ambassador of my country, I prefer to think of it only as my background rather than something that defines myself (even because I'm way out of the Brazilian stereotype)... But it was a good chance to show some other things other than the "carnival-soccer-Amazon" image some people have of Brazil.

I'm not sure if I succeeded, though.

Of course, as nothing is perfect, during the "yakiniku dinner" at Kyoto Seminar House (a good place for a group to stay) there was beer. I'm not intolerant of alcohol as I was years ago, but some people know what comes from the equation Japanese plus party plus alcohol (I admit that's not exclusive of Japanese, but I have a feeling that they overdo it more often)... and what I think of that.

Anyway, it was an overall good trip, visiting beautiful places and talking to nice people. Especially a Japanese girl and guy from South Africa very pleasant to talk to.